Heart's fragility
by xkawaiichix
Summary: Now that families have been started there is only one weakness,5 years have passed since they were 18 and now new terrors are about to be unleashed upon Konoha and could threaten their only weakness BIG sasusaku slight naruhina sequel to heart's barrier
1. Desirable weakness

**HEART'S FRAGILITY**

**(sequel to Heart's barrier)**

**On Heart's barrier it was voted by reviewers that they would REALLY like to see a sequel. If you have never read Heart's barrier, you can still read this without having to read the first one anyway. However, I cannot sumarise Heart's barrier as it would spoil the plot for those who wanted to read Heart's barrier before this one. I hope you do have the time to read Heart's barrier, but if not then enjoy the sequel. (If anything becomes confusing or if you would like to know what happens the last chapter of Heart's barrier is enough to tell you what I am following on from.) ENJOY!!!!!!!!**

**(note: haku is uncle in japanese so I don't mean the character haku) (NOTE AGAIN, LOL: to those who have not read heart's barrier, the rookie nine are now 23 years old, they were 18 in Heart's barrier) I do not own Naruto, full credit goes to Masashi Kishimoto.**

**--------------------------------------------**

**Chapter 1**

A dark mist began to crawl its way across a deserted plain. Only shadows moved within the haunted walls.

"It will be activated soon, yes?" A glimmer of green loomed from the darkness.

One blue eye looked up from their handywork. "Time is on our side..."

--------

"Haku-san! Haku-san!" A 3 year old blonde boy with silver eyes came running across the grounds, a piece of paper clutched in his tiny hand.

"Hn? What is it Harino?"

"Look at da dwawing haku-san!" The little boy skidded across the ground and showed his drawing. A picture of two figures fighting.

"Hm...it is very good but you have got one thing slightly wrong..." He asked for the little boy's pencil and he hesitantly handed it over to him. The man made some adjustments to the drawing. "There."

"Eh? Haku-san, you made daddy's head explode!" Harino exclaimed.

"That's because I am stronger than he is and my special electric jutsu can make your daddy's head explode." The man gave a wink before standing up. It had been 5 years since Naruto had been made hokage and since then, he married Hinata and had a child. Harino, of course, with his father's blond messy hair but his mother's byuukugan.

"Pfft...Soukai always says he is stwonger than I am!" Harino protested, folding his arms and pouting.

Sasuke lowered his eyes to the little boy with a grin. "Ne? Well...Soukai is like that."

"Can't woo tell him to stop, you're his daddy after all!" Harino shouted, stomping his foot.

Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Kids...how about you complain to your father? Where is he anyway?"

Harino grinned. "Not telling."

"Well someone has to look after you-and it's not going to be me. I have jobs to do." Even so, Sasuke picked up Harino and gave him a piggyback ride through Konoha. Sasuke Uchiha had earned a noble status once again in the village. Dressed in a dark blue robe which cut off down the middle to show black pants and sandals-he was the true figure of the Uchiha's legacy. The emblem was sown on his collar, as it always had been.

Harino happily tugged on Sasuke's spiked hair, using it as if it were reigns for a horse. "Dis is fun, ne haku-san?"

Sasuke frowned. "Whatever..."

"Giddy up-giddy up Saskeeee horsey!" Harino pulled his hair even tighter. "Faster!"

"Oh! Sasuke!" A woman with long dark purple hair and silver eyes came rushing out of the ninja academy. "You found him!"

Sasuke stopped in his tracks as Hinata rushed to them. "What do you mean...found?"

Harino sweatdropped. "Heheh..."

"You ran from the academy?" Sasuke exclaimed glaring up at the hokage's son.

"Sowwy haku-san...I wanted woo to see my dwawing!" Harino proudly waved the drawing in his hand.

"You know, techinically, I'm not your uncle," Sasuke snapped as Hinata dragged her son off of Sasuke's shoulders.

"Thank you Sasuke. It won't happen again." Hinata bowed her head before dragging her son back into the academy.

Sasuke blew a strand away from his face in frustration. "Kids..." Checking the time he realised Soukai's class would finish anytime now. Sighing heavily he walked towards the doors of the ninja academy and waited patiently for his son to come out. Before he could have a chance to relax against the wall, the bell rung and a pile of children came bustling out.

"Aa...finally..." Sasuke said in relief as he swam his way through children.

"DADDY!"

And Sasuke was thrown to the ground, banging his head on a stone. "Soukai...you're killing your father."

Soukai released his strangling strength and gave his father a kiss on the nose. "What are you doing on the floor anyways?"

"You have your mother's strength for sure..." Sasuke stood and brushed himself off. "Ready to go?"

"Hai!" Soukai, not inheriting his father's calm and collected attitude mostly resembled the typical Uchiha appearence. However, his eyes were as green as his mother's, if not identical and his black bangs were not his father's, but his mothers however the tall spikes resembled Sasuke exactly, including the pale skin and facial expressions.

"What did you do today?" Sasuke asked, grabbing ahold of his 4 year old's hand.

"Iruka made copycats of himself!" Soukai exclaimed.

"Shadow clone jutsu," Sasuke corrected him with a smirk. "Did you like it?"

"No-who needs more Irukas? He's a pain in the ass!"

Sasuke flicked Soukai on the head. "Don't say that."

"Why not? Mommy says you're a pain all the time!" Soukai protested.

"Not pain-the 'a' word."

"Oh. Mommy says that too."

"So...she says I'm a pain, eh?" Sasuke said, raising a brow.

Soukai shook his head. "Only because you keep stealing the tomoatoes when I'm supposed to have them for lunch."

Sasuke reddened. He was guilty of that. "Is she at home?"

"Probably," Soukai shrugged. They approached the Uchiha village in silence, as they often did. Soukai did not know about what happened, all he knew was that there used to be many Uchihas. He did not like to question his father about it because the answer would always be the same. _"You'll understand when you're older."_

Entering his old house, he removed his shoes and walked into the living room, collapsing onto the floor. "I'm beat...you beat?"

Soukai collapsed beside him. "Yeah...I'm beat..."

"Move your lazy asses off the floor or I'll mistake you for a rug and accidentally walk on you..." Sakura raised her foot over Soukai's head.

"Gah! Mommy!" Soukai sat up and giggled. "Told you she said as-"

"Aa! Don't," Sasuke interrupted, standing up. "You were quiet..."

Sakura wrapped her arms around him. "No...you're just deaf."

"Get a room!" Soukai said in disgust before running off to his room.

Over the 5 years Sakura's hair had grown to mid-waist, except her bangs were shorter. She had taken the liberty of dressing in a similar robe to her husband's, except it was in the style of a kimono and a crimson colour. She also wore the Uchiha emblem on her collar.

"How was your day?" Sasuke asked in the typical husband way.

"Hm...eventful," Sakura answered, giving him a kiss before sitting down.

"Eventful, how?" He asked, his tone concerned.

"Naruto is paranoid," Sakura replied. "Trouble with Otogakure."

Sasuke felt his chest tighten. The sound village. "Trouble...how?"

"Rebels, Sasuke. You know-they have no leader so now they are rebelling and taking it all out on everybody else. Typical sound ninjas. Pointing the finger at everyone but themselves," Sakura told him.

"They're fingers are pointing at me..." Sasuke said quietly.

Sakura stared at him sympathetically. "No...it was not your burden to bare. Leading Otogakure and all..."

"I wouldn't do it," Sasuke said.

"I know. Don't worry yourself about it. They have completely forgotten about your existence. They're just rebelling on whatever they can."

-----

The riot had lasted long throughout the night. Only one watched with interest, a smirk plasted to their face. The people were shouting, fighting and blood filled the air. Something had to be done...

----------

**Aaaaand that's the end of chapter 1! Yaaaay! Please review!**


	2. Forthcoming

**Chapter 2**

**Hope you liked chapter one!!!! Thanks to those who wanted a sequel, I'm glad I can write a sequel but make it BETTER!! yay!**

**--**

Sasuke woke to find Sakura sleeping in his arms. He enjoyed the peaceful mornings they had together. No one else to bother them as they-

"Erm...daddy? Are you awake?"

Sasuke raised his head to view his son standing in the doorway.

"Hai Soukai, what's up?" Sasuke asked, stroking his wife's arm.

Soukai blushed. "I...burnt the bed."

Sasuke widened his eyes. He sighed heavily. "Again? You need to stop practising your jutsus in your bed...well...why don't I wake your mother and-"

"It's your turn..." Sakura said tiredly, eyes still closed. "Your turn to change the bed-not mine."

"How do you do that?" Sasuke asked her in annoyance, kicking off the covers and wrapping a dressing gown round him.

"You can't keep avoiding burn beds forever. That's why he asked you..." Sakura yawned as she happily took up Sasuke's side of the bed and sprawled herself over it. "Hm...your pillow smells nice."

"Tsk..." Sasuke said, slightly amused. "It's because you keep lying all over it." He took Soukai's hand and helped him to his bedroom.

Soukai skipped over to his chest of drawers and changed his pyjamas.

Sasuke tiredly began changing the bed, his eyes wanting sleep. Folding the scorched sheets over and tossing them into the hall, he grabbed the pillows.

"They don't need changing," Soukai said.

Sasuke shrugged. "I will do them anyway for you." He raised the pillow and his heart froze. Underneath it was something he would have destroyed himself, had it not happened to be in his son's possession. A lump formed in his throat-one he could not get away. The muscles in his arms seemed to tighten. An old feeling began to return...

"What is it daddy?" Soukai asked, slightly worried.

"Where.did.you.get.that?" Sasuke asked very slowly, his mind riddling with forgotten thoughts.

Soukai stared at the space under his pillow and frowned. "It's my treasure."

Sasuke bit his lip. "Get it out of my sight."

Soukai gazed up at his father with glistening eyes. "It is just a picture..." He grabbed the picture and stared at it. "He looks just like you daddy..."

"No he doesn't, throw it away right now," Saskue ordered, his voice raising.

"Is he your brother or something?" Soukai asked, refusing to take the hint.

"Soukai, it's not your business!" Sasuke shouted, snatching the picture. He was about to destroy the photograph when Soukai snatched it from his hands and ran to the doorway.

"Why won't you tell me anything daddy? This picture is MY treasure, not yours!" Soukai ran off crying to his mother.

Sasuke lowered his head as he punched the wall furiously.

-----

Soukai ran to his mother and jumped on her sleeping form, burying his head to her chest. Sakura snapped open her eyes and instantly cradled her son in a matter of concern.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked him, sitting up and humming.

Soukai listened to the soothing song his mother was humming. "D-daddy tried to take my treasure."

Sakura gazed at the object in Soukai's hand. A crumpled photograph. "That's..."

"Do you know him?" Soukai asked hopefully. "Daddy tried to destroy it."

Sakura hesitated. "Soukai...you have to get ready for the academy...we'll talk when you get back..."

Soukai nodded sadly as he jumped off the bed and made his way out of the room. Sasuke appeared in the doorway then, his eyes fixed on the object as his son pushed past him.

After some moments, Sakura approached her husband and gave him a smack on the head. "Subtle."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Where did he find it?"

"I don't know. But you can't keep secrets from him, Itachi is his uncle," Sakura told him.

"He's 4, he doesn't need to know," Sasuke answered, folding his arms.

Sakura sighed heavily. "We woke up 10 minutes early..." She leant against him. "Come back to bed."

Sasuke smirked. "Hn..."

------

Naruto paced his office. He groaned heavily. Hinata was away in the Hyuuga household, where they now lived dealing with some problems so he was both doing hectic paperwork and looking after his son. The ninja academy was not open for 3 year olds today, as an exam was being held.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked in annoyance, collapsing into the chair. He had not changed much over the 5 years, except now his hair was longer and he was perhaps near identical to the yondaime.

"Wherrize? Wherize?" Harino repeated happily, using a plastic kunai to destroy his father's uneeded paperwork. "Haku-san! Horsee!"

"Yeah, where is your pet horse?" Naruto said in agreement, placing his hands on his hips.

The door to the office opened. "Sorry I am late...I...had to drop Soukai off to school." Sasuke adjusted his collar as he recieved a hug from his pretend "nephew."

"Liar-your hair is a mess, I know what you were doing!" Naruto scolded him.

Sasuke gingerly straightened out his hair. "Why did you call, oh so powerful one?" Sasuke teased him, taking a seat.

"Problems with Otogakure," Naruto replied casually, handing him a large file.

Sasuke began flicking through the pages. "What is this?"

"The last evidence of Orochimaru's lab work. Notes written by Kabuto, excetera," Naruto told him, crossing his arms.

Sasuke caught his name scribbled on one of the pages. He swallowed. "I didn't know about this..."

"They're against you," Naruto said blatantly. "The jonin I sent there months ago to retrieve this evidence-well, let's just say only one returned and are currently undergoing surgery. They want your head Sasuke."

Sasuke shut the file and slammed it on the table. "Why now?"

"You released Orochimaru's prisinors a long time ago. Now, the sound ninja who served under Orochimaru have no power and want to gain revenge. At first, the sound ninja believed you were more powerful and could bring Otogakure into power, but you left them so now they feel Orochimaru should never have died," Naruto explained.

"And why are you telling me this now?" Sasuke asked, his eyes darkening.

Naruto stared at the file. "You're in danger. It's my job to protect you, for your family's sake. That mission I assigned you to is instead being assigned to Sakura."

Sasuke clenched his fists. "You'd rather my wife went into Otogakure than me?"

"They don't know about you two," Naruto answered. "There seems to be a link between this sudden want for you dead and a person..."

"Who?" Sasuke asked.

"Apparently the rebellions are organising themselves, they must be under a new rule. It has been rumoured for some time, which is why Sakura is going to check it out."

"So they have a leader who wants me dead?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

Naruto massaged his temples. "Gah-I don't know what's going on but their formation is changing. They're no longer killing anyone they see-they're cunning. There must be someone telling them what to do." He took a seat on his chair. "There is all this mess with Otogakure right now-I'm sure Sakura didn't want to tell you most of it."

Sasuke shook his head. "No, she missed out the part of them wanting my head."

Naruto nodded. "Well, I'll see what I can do, but for now, you're staying in Konoha." He gave Sasuke the evidence file. "Take that to Sakura, I want her to look through it, see if it can help us."

Sasuke sighed as he took the file. He couldn't possibly allow Sakura to do this mission.

-----

More commotion. He was growing tired of it. After already taking control of Southern Otogakure, it was the Northern that would be the problem. They were too brutal, even under Orochimaru's rule. Watching the riots as he had done many times this week, he decided to take a step foward. Entering the mob and standing in the middle he waited to gain their attention. Nothing. The screams of angry men rung in his ears-they were not pleased on this frosty morning. Using a hand sign, a huge pulse of chakra was released from his body, sending 50 rioters away from the center of the crowd and knocking them back. The people paused in their actions.

"Hm, how rude of me," the person announced over the dim. "But all this rioting just won't do." He raised his voice so that all could hear. "You may ask, who am I? Why am I here? Your country has lost its reputation-I can help you gain it...anyone willing to challenge me on that one may step up now, if they do so dare..."

One ninja immediately raised his kunai at the arrogant figure but just as he did so-he collapsed to the ground and a green substance began to seep from his mouth. The crowd took a step backwards.

"We are a united country now, gentlemen! We have a chance to prove ourselves once more-so tell me, who is it that you so desirably detest, which has caused such a riot to take place?"

The noise was like cheering bells to the man's ears as he head the word "Sasuke."

"Hm, I shall give him to you and you may have your fun with him and then, we may have our fun of taking over earth, wind, fire and water-does that sound fun to you?"

A positive reply sounded.

"Excellent..."

**------**

**Sorry if this chapter was slightly shorter, please review! OMG i just had another idea to add to this story!!! **


	3. The past comes back

**Chapter 3**

**Hope you liked the last chapter! **

**----**

"Aiko-san! Welcome!" Sakura greeted the woman at the door with a large embrace. "Come in, I have mochi rice and sweet potatoes and, well, a lot of food that's needs to be eaten." Sakura took her into the living room. In 5 years, the Uchiha household had been made into a cosy residence.

"Ooh, such a nice house," Aiko said gazing at the decor. She noticed the young boy playing with his father's ninja tools. "Aw, such a sweet boy!"

Soukai stared at her as if she had just escaped from a mental institution. "Nani?"

"Soukai..." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Why are you playing with your father's old kunai?"

"Speaking of him, where's your husband? I'd love to see him," Aiko said excitedly, just as he was walking through the door.

He was reading a scroll, completely unaware of the women's presence. "We've ran out of toilet paper, Soukai keeps using too mu-" He paused. "Who are you?"

"This is Aiko, she's from the sand village, we went on a lot of missions together and she happened to be in Konoha so I decided to introduce her to the family," Sakura explained with a bright smile.

Sasuke gave one nod as he nervously looked at the auborn haired women standing before him.

"Well, your husband is a hottie isn't he?" Aiko said, making Sakura laugh.

"Yeah, his name is Sasuke U-"

"He doesn't happen to have a brother, does he?" Aiko joked.

"Uchiha..." Sakura finished, cringing.

Aiko instantly put a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry...I completely forgot..."

"Why, the Uchiha symbol outside not obvious enough?" Sasuke snapped. "Should I make it a little bigger, maybe with lights on?"

"Sasuke that is enough," Sakura said as Aiko reddened.

Soukai was listening intently. The Uchiha history was a touchy subject, but why? What was his father hiding?

"Enjoy the food Aiko, I won't be a minute with my husband," Sakura said pleasently, dragging him into the kitchen. "Well that was nice of you."

"Look I'm-"

"No, I don't want your explanations-she was complimenting you. Now if you don't apologise to her right now I'll feed you to the fangirls!" Sakura threatened.

"Okay I'm going," Sasuke said, without hesitation as he went back into the living room.

-----

Soukai left the house while his parents talked with the visitor. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he trudged to the park just nearby. To his relief, Harino was there, sitting on a swing and drawing once again. Soukai was popular in his class, his skills lied mainly in tai-jutsu with his unique strength and he ws handsome like his father. Though there were other children his age to play with, he found Harino good company, perhaps because they were sort of like cousins. He took a seat beside him and dug out his prized treasure from his pocket.

Harino stopped drawing. "What's dat Soukai-chan?" He peered at the picture.

Soukai purposely wanted Harino to see it. "I think it's my uncle."

"Your uncle? He does look like horsee, doesn't he?" Harino agreed.

Soukai raised a brow. "Horse?"

"Your dad." Harino grinned the way his father did.

Soukai nodded understandingly. He forgot Harino had made his parents some form of pet. Sakura, for instance was a bird, which looked after him if Naruto or Hinata were busy. Soukai personally thought that a bird and a horse was a very odd combination.

"My dad keeps hiding things from me. About Uchihas and what happened to them," Soukai told Harino quietly.

Harino burped loudly. Soukai frowned at him. It was clear that the two friends had been raised in very different ways.

"So...da Uchis have a mystery?" Harino wondered with interest. "Why don't we investigate?"

Soukai liked the sound of that. "Investigate, ne? There are probably loads of secrets in my village! Let's go look around while my parents are at home!"

Harino nodded excitedly as they both hopped off the swing and ran to the Uchiha village.

-----

Naruto gazed at his paperwork in slight concern. No word yet from the remaining squad in Otogakure. He was confident that some were still alive.

"None are alive."

A voice in Naruto's mind? No, it wasn't his voice. But the very tone seemed like an echo, fading in a dark room. What was that voice?

"The voice is me, lord Hokage..."

Naruto stood immediately, understanding now that whoever this was, they were a threat. "Show yourself now." _'Can this person read my mind?'_

A figure appeared in the office, a hood covering his head and a long cloak to cover his entire body. Underneath the shadows, he could see a smirk-one which Naruto partially recognised.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded, ready to fight if it was necessary.

"Your men are dead-sound ninja are vile when they want to be," The man spoke. "A ninja like you...should watch out."

"You have no threat against me. I take it you're the one that has been controlling Otogakure these past months?" Naruto asked, averting his eyes to the man's clenched gloved hands. "Why so eager to conceal yourself?"

"I have many names amongst this word lord Hokage, why reveal myself when my name says enough to leave people scuttling like petrified mice? Konoha has not yet felt the horror of my skills..."

Naruto did recognise this person, but who? "And what names are they?"

"Well, the jutsus I perform certainly have an effect on what people call me...harvesting is a clue..." The man chuckled in a low voice that sickened Naruto.

"Why are you here?" Naruto demanded once again.

"I want that boy's power..." And with that, the man disappeared.

Naruto could no longer feel the man's chakra. He sat back down in his seat and pondered on the thought...harvesting? He would have to go to the library and research on this-there were many jutsus that could resemble the word 'harvesting.' He knew now that his country was in danger. Naruto wanted to know who this boy was. What boy's power seemed promising enough that a familiar stranger would happen to want it? His clues led to his own son and perhaps Sasuke's son. Considering, Otogakure wanted Sasuke's head it would be no surprise if they wanted Soukai. But so far, Soukai's strength had not been apparent enough. And surely they would not know that Sasuke was now a father? As well as this, Soukai was only 4 and there were no traces of his kekkai genkai as of yet. Only his mother's immense strength-but still not enough to tempt this odd person. He would have to make a call and warn Sakura, just in case.

-----

Once Aiko had left Sasuke could finally have the chance to talk with Sakura about this mission. Reaching under the cushion, he took out the file and handed it to his wife.

"Did Naruto give this to you?" Sakura asked him casually, flicking through the pages.

"He wants you to study it," Sasuke told her. "I need to talk to you about this."

Sakura knew this was coming. "You are annoyed that you were removed from this mission and that I am taking your place?"

"Otogakure is dangerous," Sasuke said.

"I'm a jonin, I think I can handle dangerous. Don't forget, I was an ANBU as well," Sakura told him, not looking up from the file. "They don't know we're together." She placed a hand on his. "You don't need to be so protective of me."

Sasuke nodded. "I don't want to...well, you know."

"I get that. Trust me-I'll kick their ass before they kick mine." She winked at him just as the phone rang. "Moshi moshi?" Naruto was on the other end. "Who was it?" There was a pause as Sasuke tried to eavesdrop on the conversation. "Looked familiar?" Sakura looked up at Sasuke who pretended he wasn't listening. "Which power? Well why would Soukai be at risk?"

Sasuke immediately crawled over to Sakura and leaned against the ear-piece with her.

"He's in the house, yeah. Okay, we'll be careful." Sakura hung up the phone. "A man from Otogakure came to visit him, they're after a boy's power and Naruto says to watch out for Soukai just in case."

"A man? Who?" Sasuke asked.

"Naruto said he looked familiar but he was wearing a cloak," Sakura explained. "Soukai! Will you come here for a moment?"

Sasuke began to worry as he heard no reply. "Sakura...you know how quiet he can be when he runs from the house-his speed is like mine and his slyness is like yours...I don't think he's here..."

Sakura paused before standing up and running out of the house. She needed to find her son.

----

**Uh-oh! Sorry about the cliffe, couldn't help it, please review, I might be able to update the next chapter today or tomorrow!**


	4. The little parting gift

**Chapter 4**

**The chapters are slowly building up to my first major plot idea! People who have read my stories know how this works, I build up to a really big plot, which leads to an even bigger plot which leads to an explosion of twists and plots and shocking stuff! I'll calm down now, you never know, I might change it mwahaha!**

**--------------------------------**

"So you went there-but did nothing?" An oto-nin in the crowd exclaimed. "What good is that?"

The hooded figure chuckled at the man's temper. "Nonsense...I left the Uchiha a little parting gift to get his mind going-it should shake things up a bit..."

"We want his head, not to toy with his mind!" The man protested once again.

Within seconds, a kunai was at his throat and the hooded man was up against his face, wearing a frown. "You have upset me. My ways are special to me...and you have upset them. Tell me you're sorry."

The man stuttered for his words. "I'm...ssorry..."

"Hm...clearly you do not understand-where are those ways you used to know so much about? Playing games with the mind-it lasts longer than a simple beheading and it's fun to watch...in fact, I believe there is more to this Uchiha than meets the eye-he seems to be hiding something...that silly hokage didn't allow me to see what...sad...I wonder what's been happening while I've been away..."

-----

Soukai went through the filing cabinets in excitement, digging out papers and looking through them.

"Dis place is scawy," Harino commented, looking around him. "The head's office..."

Soukai nodded. "Yup-this is where all the secret files are kept! Look, I have a profile list of all the Uchihas in the ANBU squad from now till 15 years back!" He looked at the current date and frowned. "There aren't any..."

Harino gazed at the book Soukai was looking at. "No Uchis? Well, you've never seen any other than your dad, right?"

Soukai nodded. "Yeah...but, I thought-there was..." He went back to the very first page. There were many profiles-all Uchihas. "They were skilled!"

Harino stared at it in awe. "Wow, what a cool clan."

"Look at this!" Soukai shouted, pointing at the profile on the first right-hand page. "It's..."

"Your treasure," Harino finished for him. "Horsee lookalike."

Soukai gazed at the information. "I...tachi...Uchiha. Damn! I wish I could read properly! Then I'd know what all of this says!" He pointed to the information below. "That word says...fam...family..." Soukai caught his father's name written under the word in bold letters, along with two others he had not heard of. "This guy is my father's brother!"

"Why does horsee hate Itachi?" Harino wondered. "He looks kind." Soukai shut the book as he took a deep breath. "We have to know."

Harino nodded in agreement as he went to the draws in the desk and began searching through them. "Hey! I found a bingo book!"

Soukai highly doubted that. "No way! ANBU would have cleaned this place out long ago-they wouldn't leave a bingo book lying around!"

"Daddy says they use this place for historical storage so they can trace back to anything imporant...teme!" Harino said smugly, sticking out his tongue.

"I'm not a teme! You're a...dobe..." Soukai protested. "What's in that bingo book?"

"People who need to die, duh," Harino drawled as he flicked through the pages.

"People who need to be assasinated actually," Soukai corrected him, snatching the book from Harino's grasp.

"Why would Itachi need to be assasinated?" Harino asked suspiciously.

Soukai spun round to face his friend. "What are you talking about?"

Harino pointed to the book. "He's in that too."

-----

Sakura ran through the village. "Soukai!" She called out in desperation. "Where are you?" She ran straight into the old police department the moment she detected his chakra. "Uchiha Soukai show yourself right now!"

"Mummy...?" Soukai stood in the doorway of the old chief's office. "What are you doing here?"

Sakura rushed to him and knelt in front of him. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

Soukai shook his head. "Me and Harino were playing..." he lied.

"Harino is here?" Sakura exclaimed.

"Birdie!" Harino screamed excitedly, running to Sakura and hugging her waist.

"Kuh...okay Harino...stop squeezing..." Sakura gasped. "You two can't run off, you're only 3 and 4 years old, it's ridiculous!"

Soukai nodded. "We're sorry."

"You're not leaving the house and Harino! I'm going to tell your mother you ran off again!" Sakura yelled, taking their hands and dragging them out of the police department.

"But...my mum let me go to the park with someone watching me!" Harino protested.

"Who was watching you?" Sakura demanded.

"Konohamaru..." Harino grinned.

"Ugh! No wonder!" Sakura snapped, taking them into the house.

Sasuke hung up the phone as he breathed a sigh of relief. "I was calling everybody! What were you thinking Soukai?"

Soukai bit his lip as he tried not to say anything.

"Answer me-why do you keep running off?" Sasuke asked again.

"Who is Itachi?" Soukai asked finally, crossing his arms and folding his bottom lip.

Sakura went pale as she stiffened her hand on Soukai's arm.

Sasuke merely stood there in confusion. "How do you know about that name?"

"Because he's your brother!" Soukai yelled as Harino covered up his ears. "And he was an ANBU and he was in the bingo book and he's in my picture!"

Sasuke said nothing for several seconds. "He was my brother."

Sakura went to her husband and linked his arm. "You don't have to tell him if you don't want to..." She whispered.

"I guess it's too late now," Sasuke answered. "Where did you get this information from Soukai?"

"The police department," Sakura, Soukai and Harino said together, all in different tones of voices.

"You are grounded," Sasuke said.

Soukai glared at his father. "I hate you!"

"You're still grounded," Sasuke said patiently.

"Why? Because you won't tell me anything? I want to see Itachi!" Soukai demanded.

"You don't want to see him, trust me," Sasuke said, his voice rising.

"Itachi, Itachi, Itachi!" Soukai chanted, punching the cushion. "I want to see my uncle!"

"He's dead!" Sasuke shouted. "He is dead, just like the rest of the Uchiha clan, alright? Is that what you wanted to know Soukai?"

Soukai's lip began to tremble as Harino bit his fingernails nervously. "H...how?"

"Don't..." Sakura pleaded. "Don't tell him who did it."

Sasuke could feel his old emotions returning. The feeling of hate and vengeance that had poisoned his mind the day the Uchiha massacre had began. A snide voice of his younger self seemed to beg for him to tell his son who committed these crimes against their clan. Before he could stop himself he said his brother's name, with all the hate conjured in the word. "Itachi."

Sakura hung her head in disappointment as Soukai's eyes widened.

"Liar!" Soukai said suddenly without thinking. "Why would he kill his own clan?"

"To this day I still don't know why..." Sasuke said coldly, his eyes darkening. "But he did it."

Soukai wiped his eyes as tears fell down-unwilling to stop. "So he killed everybody then killed himself?" He screamed as Harino's eyes began to water.

Sakura hastily went over to the two boys and held onto both of them as Harino sobbed in her lap. "Sasuke, stop it right now."

"No Sakura, he needs to know the truth right? He wants to know, he has the right to know!" Sasuke argued. "I can't lie to you Soukai, but the truth hurts."

Soukai bit his lip.

"And Itachi didn't kill himself..." Sasuke ran his hand through his hair. "That's all you need to know." Images of his fight with Itachi came flooding back. It was brutal-bloody. It had turned Sasuke into something evil-bloodthirsty even. He never wanted to feel that again.

"I wish I was never an Uchiha..." Soukai mumbled as he shook off his mother's comforting hand and trudged to his room.

Sakura cradled Harino as he cried. "Harino doesn't like loud noises."

Sasuke nodded.

"What are we doing Sasuke?" She asked him. "Our son running off all the time...he hates being an Uchiha...what are we doing wrong? Are we messing up here?" She wiped her eyes with her free hand.

"We're not failures..." Sasuke began. "We're shinobis. It's harder for us because of our past."

"Well it needs to get sorted. I can't have Soukai feeling this way. I'm dropping Harino home." Sakura stood and left the house leaving Sasuke alone in the dim light.

-----

Soukai sat on his bed, slowly tearing up the picture of Itachi in tiny fragments. The ripping sound made his ears cringe.

"Soukai..."

Soukai looked to the doorway but no one was there. He frowned.

"Soukai..."

The young Uchiha jumped up fully on his bed and took his father's kunai from his pocket. "Who...who is there..."

"Look on the floor Soukai..."

He did and his heart froze. The picture he had torn up...was back together again as if it hadn't been touched. And Itachi was no longer smiling in it...he was smirking...

---

**O.O creeepy!!! Hope you liked it, things are starting to get interesting now, please review!**


	5. Risen

**Chapter 5**

**Thanks for your reviews, hope you are enjoying the story so far! I'm sure those of you are dying to find out who this leader of sound is-well, I is not telling but it's NOT an OC coz I'm not a fan of OC's unless they're minor characters, mwahaha...anyway, enjoy chapter 5 :D!**

**--**

Soukai scrambled off of his bed and grasped the picture in his hands. "U-uncle...?"

"Soukai..."

Soukai looked around him again as the voice ehoed around the room. The voice was low and similar to Sasuke's. Did it belong to Itachi?

"Let me out Soukai..."

Soukai shook his head. "No! You killed our clan!"

"Our clan was dead long before I killed them..."

A brush of wind blew over the room-like a sudden force of ice. Soukai shielded his eyes. He looked up and all was silent...

-----

Sakura took a walk through the village, as the wind swept through her hair. She lowered her eyes to the ground as he fumbled with her hair pin. _'Soukai must feel so out of place...' _Entering a clear space of the forest, she stretched and took a seat on the grass. Laying back Sakura gazed up at the clouds as they passed her by. She grabbed clumps of grass in her hand and ripped them from their roots.

Suddenly, she felt a wave of chakra pulses below her. It seemed to be coming from under the ground. The pulse was repetitive. She forced herself to sit up and place her ear on the ground, studying the pulses and time between each one. _'It isn't a jutsu-nor is it a person...however, chakra waves are surging through the earth and focusing on this particular spot...why? What is that?' _Her first instinct was to tell the hokage-aka, her best friend. If something was strange, Naruto would want to hear about it.

-----

"The bird is ready to take flight..." The blond from the shadows said with a humor to his tone.

"Finally...it's our time...plan B," the other spoke.

A woman stepped out of the shadows with a smirk. "Our last resort..."

"Katsu..."

------

The earth began to rumble around Sakura. She took a step backwards as the ground began to rise below her. She widened her eyes as something began to ascend from the ground. _'No way! Th-this is-!'_

-----

Soukai breathed heavily as he threw the photograph out of the window. His father was right-Itachi wasn't the person he thought he was.

"That displeases me greatly..."

Soukai stared at his hands in horror as he saw Itachi's sharingan eye in each palm. "Gah-get out of here!" Itachi's head began to crawl its way out of Soukai's shoulder.

"You are a disappointment to the Uchiha name...no one accepts you for who you are...you are just like me Soukai..."

"No, no I'm not!" Soukai protested. "Get off of me!" The words Itachi spoke kept repeating in his mind-the sharingan on his palms, Itachi's face on his shoulder. "Stay away from me!"

Sasuke ran into the room as he heards his son's cries. "Release!"

The gen-jutsu dispersed and Soukai fell to the ground in exhaustion. He took in deep breaths. "F-father..."

Sasuke ran to Soukai's side. "What happened?" Sasuke had sensed the gen-jutsu, and the moment he entered the room he saw his son struggling. The gen-jutsu itself was invisible to Sasuke's eye, but it was real.

"Itachi...was everywhere! On my hands, in my shoulder!" Soukai cried.

Sasuke placed a comforting hand round his son. "I won't let anyone hurt you-that's a promise." He gazed at his surroundings. _'Itachi is dead...I know he is...how is this possible?' _"I need you to tell me something Soukai-where did you find that picture?"

"I...didn't fine it..." Soukai said, wiping away his tears. "I was given it..."

Sasuke's heart skipped a beat. Who would give him something like that? "When were you given it?"

"Two weeks ago..." Soukai answered, wiping his tears. "I dreamt about someone giving me a picture and when I woke up the picture was beside me."

Sasuke raised a brow as he wiped his son's tears. "Who gave it to you in the dream?"

"Y...you did..."

Sasuke paused. "Gen-jutsu..." _'Someone has been placing gen-jutsu on my son...and whoever it is will pay...' _ "Well I didn't give you that picture...but I need you to stay by my side or your mother's at all times, no matter what...if anything happened to you..." Sasuke shook off the feeling of remorse. He couldn't allow his son to concern himself with danger at such a young age. "Let's get you some ramen...okay?"

Soukai nodded as he smiled. "I don't...hate you..."

"Heh, I know..." Sasuke replied, taking him out of the Uchiha compound.

-----

Sakura sat on the floor, crawling backwards as the white bird came rising from the ground like a demon from hell. Sakura had no idea what to do-if she went to tell the hokage then anyone could go near it without knowing what it was-but if she stayed then it was possible she'd be blown up. _'This is one of Deidara's bombs, but we haven't heard from the Akatsuki in 5 years-not only that, it came from under the ground! Unless he planted it there...so why is it going off now?' _Sakura couldn't sense any chakra around her-aside from the pulses surged within the bomb. It could go off anytime.

_'Think Sakura, think! Tsunade taught you some knowledge about bombs-it was part of your medical training seven years back...when the particles heat up, it causes a chemical reaction, which sets off the bomb, however this is chakra infused therefore it is controlled by Deidara's chakra and he can choose when to detonate it...that means, if I block chakra pules from reaching the exterior shell it won't be set off...however, I would need to get my hand right in there and do a sealing jutsu...how do I open a bomb without it setting off?' _

Sakura would need some tools...she could operate on this bomb-but she would require utensils. Sakura couldn't risk getting them herself. Then, she remembered what her and Sasuke had planned together on a mission 3 years back. By tracking his sharingan using chakra pulses to his brainwaves, Sakura could let him know she was in danger-however, it would only work at a certain distance and Sakura had no idea if she could focus chakra into her husband's brain waves so easily when the bomb could disrupt her signature. As well as this, Sasuke's sharingan would have to be activated. With that in mind, Sakura did a hand sign and sent off a pulse of chakra to Sasuke, praying he would pick up on it.

-----

"Good ramen?" Sasuke asked, watching his son gulping the food down.

"Hai!" Soukai answered, wiping his mouth. "Arigatou."

Sasuke gave a curt nod before getting up to leave the bar. "Let's go walk somewhere." He watched his son with concern. It seemed the incident earlier had not affected his current mood, however, he was 4 and has been placed under a gen-jutsu-it would have been a close call if it wasn't for Sasuke releasing it in time. _'Hn...that's another thing-that gen-jutsu was weak, as if the person could barely keep it up, which is why it was so easy to release-I had no problem whatsoever. But still-I can't shake off the feeling...' _He gazed at the sky above. _'That Itachi could be...' _He flinched slightly as he felt a pulse of chakra hitting him suddenly. He turned to face the direction it was coming from. The chakra was so faint, he couldn't even work out who it was. Sasuke activated his sharingan without Soukai noticing. Now he could see-it was a green glow, that seemed to rush into his body then back out.

"Soukai-your mother, she wants us, let's go!" Sasuke said urgently, taking his son by the hand and heading straight to the woods. He prayed she was alright-with the incident that happened earlier, he could only fear the worst.

---

**Sorry it took me a while to upload, I've been so busy! The next chapter should be longer, please review! Thank you! **


	6. Trust in you

**Chapter 6**

**Sorry this has taken me so long, but I have been very busy lately. Enjoy chapter 6. Oh and I have yet another big plot for this story!!!**

Sakura sighed heavily as she gazed at the bomb in front of her. She couldn't afford to make any sudden movements-if she did, it could blow.

"Sakura?"

Sakura heard Sasuke's voice close by. She was only too relieved to hear him. "Sasuke, I'm over here, but be careful!" She called to him.

Sasuke cautiously slowed the pace as he gestured for Soukai to slow down. Reaching the clearing, he skidded to a hault and gazed at the thing before him. It was like a white phantom looming over their small figures.

"Gah! You brought Soukai?" Sakura said worriedly, spinning round on her husband. "He can't stay here!"

"He was already with me when I felt your chakra, I couldn't leave him alone...not after..." Sasuke's voice faded, as he remembered the gen-jutsu.

"What? After what?" Sakura demanded, her jade eyes widening.

"I think the giant bomb in the middle of the ground is our main crisis right now," Sasuke told her sternly.

Sakura frowned as she gazed back at the bomb with concern. "Right...I can stop it from going off, right now it's not stable and could go off at any time so we need to work quickly. I need operating tools."

Sasuke lowered his eyes at this. "What do you mean? You're not attempting to operate on this thing are you?"

"I have to, I'm the best medic nin we have," Sakura told him.

"Get the ANBU over here, they can fix this!" Sasuke protested.

"Their chakra could disrupt the bomb, I'm already pushing it with you standing here. The chakra waves within the bomb are somehow being affected by chakra on the exterior, I need to get in there and seal it," Sakura explained. "I was part of the ANBU Sasuke, I can do this. Trust me. Now, please, I need tools."

Sasuke hesitated. "I'm not leaving your side." He knelt to face his son and stared at him with serious eyes. Soukai looked back nervously. "You're fast like me."

"D...daddy..." Soukai said nervously.

"I can't leave your mother's side right now, I might be able to help with this. Go to the hokage, tell him there is a bomb and Sakura needs tools from the hospital. Let Naruto take it over from there...and then..." he rubbed his nose against his son's playfully to settle him. "I want you to stay with Hinata, okay?"

Soukai nodded. "Okay, I'll be a ninja and do my first mission..." he sniffed.

"I love you more than anything," Sasuke told him, standing up. "Go on Soukai, you can do it."

Soukai nodded as dashed off through the forest and straight towards the hokage's mansion. Sasuke turned back to his wife, taking a cautious step forwards.

"Don't get too close," Sakura told him quickly. "I can feel it...the bomb is getting more unstable..." She gazed at the spot where her son had been standing. "I need him to be fast..."

Sasuke nodded. "He will be...how did you find it?"

"It rose from the ground," Sakura replied. "It's Deidara's."

Sasuke glared at the bomb, he recognised the claywork, of course. "Yeah...but how did it get here?"

"He must have planted it here..." Sakura answered. "So the Akatsuki are still in tact..."

-----

"I'm fading..."

The darkness was like a swollen bruise within the temple's skin.

"I can't survive as your half any longer..."

The man removed his hood and gazed in the mirror. "You owe me for my services...it's not everday I would allow your kind to share my body..." A glint of silver hair shimmered in the blackness of the room.

"You should be used to that, your work is quite similar after all. Harvesting chakra from deceased legends, as you put it..." His other half hissed.

"Well realising you were still living I decided why not help you out a little bit? After all, we both have similar goals. I want Otogakure and you want Konoha."

"The moment we have Sasuke, I shall be my own..."

"Shame you can only survive on him, with me, you just got lucky..." The man answered with a smirk.

His other half smirked also. "I am fortunate...indeed..."

"And the previous organisation? What will you do with it?"

"It is rotting without me."

-----

Soukai burst into the office, breathing heavily. "Naruto, Naruto!"

"Eh? Soukai, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked, kneeling to face the exhausted boy.

"T...there's a biiiig bomb Naruto, my mom needs tools to operate on it, quickly! She can fix it!" Soukai exclaimed.

Naruto widened his eyes. "Right, you stay here. I'll handle this one myself." He disappeared from the room. _'A bomb...in Konoha, how did I miss it? Where was it? At least Sakura found it first, her medical skills may be in use here, and if she sent her own son to deliver this message, it may mean she already has a plan.'_

-----

Naruto ran straight into the hospital, ignoring gasping nurses as he dashed into the supply cupboard. Grabbing anything sharp and shiny he could find, he slammed the door and ran back out again. _'Should the people be worried...? How unstable is this thing?'_

He tracked Sakura's chakra using a simple jutsu. It was deep within a forest. That left Naruto some relief, at least it was doubtful any civillians would be nearby.

-----

Sakura placed a hand on the bomb. "I don't understand...why it won't be set off..."

"Perhaps it responds to chakra only, like you said. Maybe, the more the chakra, the weaker it gets. Deidara would have wanted this bomb to go off with plenty of people around," Sasuke said.

Sakura nodded. "Then why plant it here?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Deidara may have planted it there on a whim."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, bursting into the clearing, juggling tools in his arms.

"Don't move!" Sasuke and Sakura shouted together, hands outstretched.

Naruto paused, one leg in the air and arms raised above his head. "Can't I at least...have both legs on the floor?"

Sakura shook her head. "Your chakra is the most strongest in the village, it could set off the bomb."

Naruto frowned. "I need to get my people to safety, how unstable is this thing?"

"It reacts to chakra," Sasuke answered.

"But if I can operate on it, we won't have a problem. The chakra on the inside is slowly expanding, but I can seal it." She thought for a moment. "But we'd need it to be sealed permamently and I can't leave my hand in a bomb forever."

Sasuke looked up. "I can deactivate it with chidori. The moment you've sealed it off, I can place a jutsu on it, which will destroy it."

"Alright then," Sakura said.

Naruto handed Sasuke the tools. "I trust you Sakura, but be careful. I have to get my people to safety, but then I'll come straight back. Be careful." He disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke watched him leave. Naruto was behaving calmly about this, it almost settled his own worries. "Sakura-"

"I know, let's do it."

**That's the end of chapter 6, hope you liked it, the next one will be up asap! Please review!**


End file.
